Gaming machines found in casinos and other gaming establishments commonly include a cabinet on which various display devices and player interface devices are mounted. The display devices may include one or more video display monitors which are operable to display game-related information and other information and to display games conducted at the gaming machine such as video reel-type games, video card games, and other types of wagering games. Player interface devices may include ticket or voucher printers, various control buttons, cash-in or ticket-in devices, and player card readers. Gaming machine cabinets define an interior volume for housing various internal components such as data processing devices and supporting equipment. While the interior components of the gaming machine must remain secured so as to prevent unauthorized access and tampering with the gaming machine, it is still necessary for the gaming machine cabinets to have access points to allow authorized personnel to access the interior volume of the cabinet for maintenance and repair purposes.
Providing access to the interior volume of a gaming machine cabinet can be problematic for a number of reasons. One issue arises from the fact that gaming machines are commonly arranged on the casino floor close together side-by-side and either back-to-back with other gaming machines or against a wall. This leaves the front of the gaming machine cabinet as the only exposed portion for providing access to the interior volume when the gaming machine remains in place on the casino floor. Yet in in modern gaming machines, video display monitors and other electronic devices take up a substantial portion of the front surface of the gaming machine, if not the entire front surface, leaving little or no room for access without moving the video display monitors and other electronic equipment from their operating positions on the gaming machine cabinet. Moving the video display monitors from their operating position can cause problems where such devices must remain supported by the gaming machine cabinet because repositioning the devices can leave the gaming machine in danger of tipping over.